ESTABLISHING A SELF- SUSTAINING LEARNING HUB FOR ICT SOLUTION DEVELOPERS IN ILE IFE NIGERIA Social Project Proposal to African Youth Leadership, Sustainability and Ethics FAWUMI Kehinde (Nigeria) FEBRUARY,2012

The Challenge  The problems of unemployment and poverty have hobbled the progress of graduates in Nigeria generally.  In Ile Ife things are worse because the community is less industrialized.  Well over 60% of graduates that live in the community are not gainfully employed and are susceptible to various juvenile delinquencies.  Many youths with sound skills in ICT and other fields do not have a suitable platform to express their passions and are wasting away.

The Supporting Earth Charter Principles  Principle 7(c): Promote the development, adoption, and equitable transfer of environmentally sound technologies.  Principle 9(b): Empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood, and provide social security and safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves.  Principle 14(a): Provide all, especially children and youth, with educational opportunities that empower them to contribute actively to sustainable development.

My Solution  My solution presents a workable strategy of engaging unemployed graduates in Ile Ife, who are skilled in ICT solution development and are readily available to take up challenges towards finding easy-to-use technological solutions to peculiar problems of the middle-class Nigerians.  These youths will be collocated in a learning hub where continuous brainstorming sessions and active software development will take place.

My Solution (Cont’d)  New software products will be deployed and sold to corporate/public establishments as well as individuals.  Outstanding youths will also be sponsored to start- up new businesses.  Profits generated from the hubs will be directed towards paying the developers, implementing other community development projects and training more graduates to become ICT experts.

Implementation Plan  The hubs will serve two purposes:  Youths will learn new skills in software development and they can start-up their own businesses on this premise.  Every project participant will belong to a team saddled with the responsibility of producing a bespoke software application.  Either way, the project is focused on enabling youths realize their potential and to improve their quality of lives in ways which protect and enhance the development of the Ile Ife community.

The Learning Hub will be facilitated as follows  Sponsorship will be sought to establish the learning hub centre.  Graduates with average ICT skills will be enrolled after a thorough interview to select qualified registrants.  Developers will be organized in teams and assigned industry-based projects for rigorous development and deployment within a specified timeline.  Professionals, who will volunteer to train the developers, will be accepted into the project. These professionals will closely mentor trainees based on the projects assigned to them.

The Initiative will be corroborated as follows  Many corporate sponsors/partners will be sought who will submit their challenges for which our team will develop a software solution. These establishments will purchase and promote the software after the development.  Since the project is quite cost-intensive, more youth-friendly organizations will be approached for sponsorship.  Public establishments will be also asked to support the project as much as possible.  The Ministry of Youth Development in Nigeria will be approached for endorsement and support.  The Nigerian Television Authority and National Dailies will support by giving a continuous befitting media publicity through adverts, National News, Interviews/Briefings, National Programs etc.  Facebook, Microsoft Nigeria, Twitter and Google Nigeria will be consulted for technical and online publicity.

Prospective Impacts  This project has a mission to proffer sustainable solutions to community problems by enabling and promoting indigenous innovations that come out of natural ingenuity and project-based trainings.  More graduates will become gainfully employed and others as employers of labour.  With the development of highly-creative marketable Software solutions which will address specific problems of industries, the learning hubs will produce economic values that will transform into development in many other communities.

Prospective Impacts  As a result of implementing various community projects, this project will provide a more suitable environment for the common indigenes of Ile Ife community.  Other youths will also be encouraged to take up responsibilities for their lives and contribute to sustainable development.

Proposed Project Budget  It is expected that the project will require an estimated start-up cost of: US $4,000 THANK YOU